Marcel Theroux: The broadcaster digging into Britain’s strangest crimes
Heist: Robbing the Bank of EnglandIf you’ve watched much British TV over the last two decades, you’ve probably met Marcel Theroux. He’s the one who asks simple questions and lets the answers speak for themselves. The novelist-turned-reporter doesn’t need to boom a voice-over to keep you watching. His signature, understated approach to journalism has taken him from Channel 4’s Unreported World to art-and-ideas detours like In Search of Wabi-Sabi.
More recently, he’s turned to true crime and as far as we’re concerned at Crime+Investigation, this is where his low-temperature style really pays off. He returnd on Monday, 3rd November with his brand-new series Heist: Robbing the Bank of England.
A legacy of his own
The Theroux surname inevitably sets expectations (Marcel’s father Paul is the legendary American travel writer and novelist of works like The Great Railway Bazaar and Mosquito Coast).
Marcel is no doubt influenced and inspired by his father’s legacy. But ultimately, he’s carved out his own lane. Patient, curious and incredulous when it counts, he’s less about 'shocking twists' and 'big reveals' and more 'let’s actually understand how this happened'. It’s a breath of fresh air in a genre that often tips into melodrama. It helps that he’s an award-winning novelist with a built-in eye for structure and framing.
The Eunuch Maker - Unpacking an online underworld
Case in point: The Eunuch Maker. This is Marcel Theroux’s investigation into Marius Gustavson, the ringleader of a disturbing online subculture centred around live-streaming illegal castration surgeries. The topic alone is an easy target for the shock-doc treatment. Theroux opts for class and context.
He maps the ecosystem and unpacks what exactly allowed the subculture to thrive as long as it did. The documentary landed in early 2025 off the back of Gustavson’s life sentence. It’s not only a favourite with true-crime fans but a testament to Theroux’s ability to navigate volatile material with tact.
Next up: a brazen heist with a paper trail
Theroux’s new series, Heist: Robbing the Bank of England
As host and writer of the show, Theroux promises to follow the paper trail properly. As well as the crime itself, he covers three decades worth of criminal investigations in the years that followed. And in true Theroux style, he secures access to key players from both sides of the Atlantic in an attempt to answer the question everyone wants to know: where did all the money go?
The two-part series launches on Monday, 3rd November on Crime+Investigation.
Inside the Theroux method
There’s a through-line from the early travelogues and foreign-affairs reporting to Theroux’s recent crime run. What Marcel does best is stand in the mess without becoming part of it. There are no gotcha theatrics. Just clear, patient reporting that earns trust. He leaves space, lets the silence do some work and trusts you to sit with the honest kind of unease that often says, 'the system made this possible'.
If you’re placing him on the British TV map, think legends like Sir David Attenborough for quiet authority and Dermot Murnaghan for perspective. And yes, he shares with Louis Theroux (his brother) a patience that gets people talking.
Why watch him now
British true crime has its marquee hits. There are the famous events like the Great Train Robbery, Brink’s-Mat and the Baker Street tunnellers. And of course, profiles on everyone from Jack the Ripper to Fred and Rose West.
The genre’s default is to go big on swagger. Theroux goes big on understanding.
He’s interested in infrastructure (topics like finance, law and the internet) and the decisions that turn this infrastructure into a crime scene. If your appetite is less 'tabloid villain' and more 'clean look at a messy system', Marcel Theroux will tick your boxes.
Want the latest Marcel Theroux shows straight to your inbox? Subscribe to the Crime+Investigation newsletter and be the first to know about new shows, articles, profiles and more.
